Obama Ordered Backup in Case of Hostile Pakistanis

WASHINGTON – President Obama ordered additional forces for the raid on Osama bin Laden’s lair in case the Navy SEALs encountered hostile Pakistani forces and had to fight their way out of the country, a White House official told The Post last night.

Initial plans called for two backup helicopters to stay on the Afghanistan side of the border and fly in only if needed.

But Obama – concerned that there would not be enough troops to fight their way out of Abbottabad if the Pakistani military or police intervened – decided to assign two additional helicopters carrying soldiers to hover nearby, the official said.

One of those backup helicopters was needed when a chopper assigned to the assault team was damaged.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities said the 16 kids living in bin Laden’s compound were home-schooled by the terror kingpin himself, along with one of his four wives.

The women are in Pakistani custody, but a US official said Islamabad will let American intelligence officers grill them.

Separately, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told his parliament that the fatal assault on bin Laden by US commandos was “indeed justice done” and confessed to “intelligence failures.”

But he warned Washington against future unilateral strikes.

The British newspaper The Guardian also reported that the United States and Pakistan struck a deal in 2001 that authorized America to get bin Laden with the understanding that Islamabad would feign protest to save face.